Venezuela met at the Ruhi Institute in Puerto Tejada and discussed the Ruhi Institute courses and the Ruhi courses were used in the Central African Republic. Counsellors and representatives of 17 National Spiritual Assemblies in the Caribbean basin and Latin America gathered in St. Lucia to introduce and study materials prepared at the Ruhi Institute in Colombia and Honduran Baháʼís attended the Cali Ruhi Institute with the intention of returning to Honduras as trainers in the Ruhi methods. In 1987 the institute wrote its first course book on the education of children. In 1988 the national assembly decided to seek legal recognition for the Ruhi Institute by incorporating it as an organization with its own Board of Directors appointed by the assembly. It dedicates its efforts to the development of human resources for the spiritual, social, and cultural development of the Colombian people. Although its center is in the town of Puerto Tejada in the department of Cauca, its area of influence extends throughout the entire country. Especially in recent years, its educational programs have been adopted by an increasing number of agencies worldwide. If individuals developed interests in contributing to society beyond those of the formal Ruhi courses they were introduced to the opportunities provided by FUNDAEC. Recent situation Demographics In 2000 the World Christian Encyclopedia estimated some 64,000 Baháʼís in Colombia ranking it as among the top 20 Baháʼí communities of the world. The Association of Religion Data Archives (relying mostly on the World Christian Encyclopedia) estimated there were 70,512 Baháʼís (0.2% of the population) in the country in 2005, and about the same in 2010. Wolfram Alpha estimated 0.1531% of Colombians or almost 69,000 people were Baháʼís in 2010. First local House of Worship In 2012 the Universal House of Justice announced that it had determined that the first ever local Baháʼí Houses of Worship would be built, in five locations around the globe. One of these was specified in Cauca Department, Colombia. The design for this local House of Worship, to be situated in the Agua Azul vereda of the municipality of Villa Rica, was unveiled on 14 September 2014. The groundbreaking ceremony was held in May 2016, and the opening dedication ceremony was held in July 2018. See also Baháʼí Faith by country History of Colombia Religion in Colombia Baháʼí Faith and Native Americans References External links Colombian Baháʼí National Community Colombia Religion in Colombia